We got up early and our Hostel owner walked us to our bus. I had planned on doing a bit blog work on the bus but 5 minutes in to sitting on the bus I realised that I would definitely have chipped a tooth with how bumpy the roads were! We arrived in Pokhara and after dropping our bags off at our hostel we went for a walk around the town, the lakeside town is the gateway to the Annapurna mountain range but the climbing season was not until April so the town was devoid of people which made it ideal for sitting by the lake and taking in the views! We Slept off our bus ride and the next day we met our trek guide Kaji where we went over the route. After our meeting we rented a canoe and went out on the lake for a different very of the valley, choosing to save the 70 cent it would of cost for a driver I gave my arms a work out and paddled it myself (every penny counts!).

The next day we got up and had our breakfast before getting a taxi with Kaji to our starting point in a small village on the outskirts of Pokhara. We began the ascent and at the crest of the mountain we got our first proper view of the surrounding mountains. Annapurna 2 looming over us as a giant pyramid of cold stone. The rest of the hike was made easier with the backdrop of the mountains to watch as the clouds roll over the natural skyscrapers. Stopping between different villages on the way we eventually came to Kaji's hometown of Hyangkot where we stayed with his childhood friend and his family. Before dinner we hiked to the peak of the village to watch as the sunset over the valley. The peace of the village coupled with the hot fire we gathered around and the "drinkable" home made wine from the owner definitely put us at ease but the night was the coldest we have been in years!

We got up the next day and acquired a new travel companion as we left the village, a small dog which followed us for a good 5km out off the village before being scared back by another dog. The second day hike was definitely harder with much steeper elevation and a steep stairway to the peak but we made it to Australia Base Camp where we got to soak in the hiker vibes and thee views before undoing all our hard work and beginning our descent to get our bus back to Pokhara. Now I will never complain about Irish buses again after watching how many people and baggage is stuffed onto these buses, it was like a clown car when everyone got off! We thanked Raji for guiding us and showing us his village and sharing his culture, we went back to our hostel and settled in before our bus back to Kathmandu and ultimately our flight to India, was hard saying goodbye to Nepal as it really is such a different and friendly country! But never know maybe India will be even better (Spoiler Alert: it wasn't!).